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Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

allure.com

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Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#81

Post by orwin »

arcticbull wrote: post #72

> “Fifteen years ago, I would never have done a lower body lift on a patient unless they had gastric bypass, a lap band, or a gastric sleeve,” he says. Right, because 15 years ago nobody else lost any weight. GLP-1s and roux-en-Y are literally the only two treatments shown in clinical studies that cause people to lose weight and keep it off indefinitely. Maybe the skin is saggy because there’s nothing under it, maybe…

Wow. 10% success rate for diet is really lower than I thought. I'd have guessed 25% based on my experience (34 BMI to 25 over 6 years). Not that surprising though, loosing weight is the hardest, most painful thing I ever done.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#82

Post by prbl2 »

A few things to consider:

1. If other weight loss methods also have significant impacts on the skin, it seems plausible that a shared mechanism could be the most parsimonious explanation. Therefore, if this effect exists, it might be due to weight loss itself rather than specifically due to Ozempic. The article cites a study supporting the fact that dramatic weight loss has negative impacts on skin health.

2. GLP-1 agonists modify appetite, which could lead people to consume less satiating foods (e.g., protein). This might negatively affect both lean muscle and skin health. There is data supporting collagen supplementation for skin health, as collagen likely raises serum amino acids. This would have the opposite effect on skin health compared to a lower intake of protein.

3. The observations made by plastic surgeons might be influenced by healthy user bias. Ozempic is an expensive medication, and insurance coverage is generally granted to those who are already quite unhealthy. To make a fair comparison, these patients should be compared to individuals with similar health characteristics.

It's also worth adopting an engineering mindset and considering the trade-offs involved. For someone who is extremely metabolically unhealthy, the benefits of weight loss might outweigh potential negative effects on the skin in terms of long-term health.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#83

Post by throwup238 »

cameronh90 wrote: post #77
throwup238 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO GLP-1 agonists are obviously not free, from first principles. They might be for diabetics who carefully manage their diet, but many (most?) people using them for weight loss usually already have shitty diets with poor macronutrient balance and micronutrient deficiencies. Eating less of the crappy food they were eating before just makes the true situation worse. This is just the latest [1][2] evidence for the obvi…

Why do you think they just eat less of the same crappy food? In my experience, it turned down the reward feedback for calorie dense food, and I would usually now prefer something like a lentil daal over a Dominos.

Because GLP-1 agonists don't change anything other than the cravings and/or reward feedback. They don't add healthy menu items to existing restaurants, they don't put new grocery stores in food deserts, teach people how to shop for healthy food or how to cook it so it's palatable, or in any way mitigate any of the socioeconomic factors that drive people to eating unhealthy food.

In my experience, the average American is looking at restaurants like McDonalds, Dominoes/PizzaHut, a local burger joint, and a "fancy" place like Olive Garden. They wouldn't be able to get something healthy like lentil daal if they wanted to, with the closest equivalent being a McDonald's salad.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#84

Post by arcticbull »

orwin wrote: post #81
arcticbull wrote: post #72

> “Fifteen years ago, I would never have done a lower body lift on a patient unless they had gastric bypass, a lap band, or a gastric sleeve,” he says. Right, because 15 years ago nobody else lost any weight. GLP-1s and roux-en-Y are literally the only two treatments shown in clinical studies that cause people to lose weight and keep it off indefinitely. Maybe the skin is saggy because there’s nothing under it, maybe…

Wow. 10% success rate for diet is really lower than I thought. I'd have guessed 25% based on my experience (34 BMI to 25 over 6 years). Not that surprising though, loosing weight is the hardest, most painful thing I ever done.

I’m glad you better appreciate just how much you beat the odds! Congrats.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#85

Post by Modified3019 »

freitzkriesler2 wrote: post #78

If you're using ozempic or any other form of semiglutide , you'll want to keep and prioritize a high protein diet to reduce or eliminate the muscle wasting that the drug causes. Nothing worse than losing weight but most of the weight loss was muscle mass.

My impression from watching various people debating studies on the topic, is that even more important than protein is physical activity, when it comes to stopping muscle loss. Someone sitting in a box eating nothing for a month will come away from it with all sorts of health issues compared to someone who walks for half an hour and otherwise lives normally, despite the second person supposedly having higher energy and nutritional needs. Physical activity is a powerful signal to the body to maintain itself. This is why the health of bedridden people looks like a horrible feedback loop that destroys them.

Another issue that makes me wary is that normally when fasting, there’s an initial period of being hungry, followed by adaption and minimal/no hunger. After a few weeks (or longer if there are special circumstances), hunger should eventually return, and this is your signal to start eating again regardless of plans. What concerns me is that Ozempic may prevent the return of hunger signal. I could see this leading to malnutrition, which another post already mentioned in a different way.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#86

Post by fyrepuffs »

comice wrote: post #50

Worth keeping in mind that many plastic surgeons are in competition with drugs like Ozempic.

People are coming to them with sagging skin from Ozempic. Since 6% of Americans are on it now (according to that article), how is that competition for the plastic surgeons?

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#87

Post by bamboozled »

silverquiet wrote: post #61
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> strange how there is almost never a shortcut to anything. Like a universal law There are win-win tradeoffs. Vitamins, for instance. If you're running a vitamin deficiency, there isn't a downside to increasing your intake of that vitamin. (Curing acute dehydration via IV is another shortcut that just works.) The Ozempic story, for me, has been more about how we almost seem to be reflexively against the idea of a win…

My perception is that we judge fat people as weak and contemptible and therefore a drug is allowing them to cheat their way out of their sin instead of paying the proper penance (diet and exercise). It's well known that people treat fat people worse; I constantly wonder how aware people are of their own biases? For what it's worth I've been fat before and I've been in shape before. I have my own biases that are beyon…

It's not that it's a sin to be fat, it's that there are side effects to taking the short cut, as outlined in the article, which was the point I was trying to make originally.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#88

Post by frosting1337 »

fyrepuffs wrote: post #86
comice wrote: post #50

Worth keeping in mind that many plastic surgeons are in competition with drugs like Ozempic.

People are coming to them with sagging skin from Ozempic. Since 6% of Americans are on it now (according to that article), how is that competition for the plastic surgeons?

Liposuction is incredibly profitable for plastic surgeons worldwide.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#89

Post by kbelder »

Arubis wrote: post #73
istultus wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an interesting remark, considering this is most famous drug on the face of the Earth, and only has one brand name worldwide (in a different dosage it's called Wegovy, and when it's released as a pill it will be called Rybelsus). Its generic name is Semaglutide.

I had never heard of this drug before today.

It's the biggest thing in the world, in small niche groups.

Re: Ozempic is changing people's skin, say plastic surgeons

#90

Post by [deleted] »

brewdad wrote: post #79
vintagedave wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn’t the most famous drug be: aspirin, heroin, cocaine, paracetamol, or maybe viagra? I don’t know from your comment what it is, and it was unhelpful. Not really in the HN spirit. For future readers, it seems to be an anti-diabetic drug or artificial hormone originating in the 70s. More educated comments than mine are very welcome.

Paracetemol proves the original complaint. In the US, we know it as acetaminophen.

[deleted]
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